Galactic Vigilante
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: Sequel to Expulsion. The Empire has risen. The Jedi Apprentice who has taken Anakin's place as Palpatine's Sith apprentice hunts the remainder of the Jedi down. The fledgling Rebel Alliance has learnt the Corellian Engineering Corporation has a ship capable of revolutionising modern space travel, tested by someone they know. Someone they had expelled from the order.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I don't own Star Wars or any part of the franchise. I just own this story.**

**Oh, by the way...RISE OF SKYWALKER WAS EPIC!**

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Galactic Vigilante.

The air of Jedha was calm, and yet Jedi Master Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi who were on this planet shielding themselves could feel the Force on this planet. And as the shuttle carrying their contacts in the Rebel Alliance made their landing, Mace had the time to meditate for a few minutes, delighting in the strength of the Force here. Like many Jedi, Mace had always felt at home on this planet, comforted because of the presence in the Force, and its connection to the Jedi Order.

The Force was strong on Jedha primarily because of the kyber which crystals the planet was rich in and which the Jedi used to power and focus the blades of their lightsabers, but the planet's presence in the living Force made it easier for the Jedi to hide from the Empire although there was no doubt the Empire was interested in the planet.

Palpatine wanted to purge the galaxy of the Jedi, every trace of the Order from the ancient and long-since abandoned Temples dotted about the galaxy. Jedha was a prime candidate since the planet was had a very strong presence in Jedi history. The loss of Jedha and the Holy City would be a massive blow to the Order.

Indeed, the Empire were strengthening their stranglehold here every day with stormtroopers and fighters patrolling the airspace. Palpatine would say they were making sure such an ancient, legendary place was being protected, and he kept saying it although Mace was certain the planet was being fortified because Palpatine wanted something from it, and it was likely to be the kyber crystals since it was the only major resource present on the planet and already the Empire were sending mining surveyors to investigate the deposits on the planet.

The shuttle landed softly on the ground - Mace wondered how long it would be before the Imperial destroyers in orbit began enforcing permits on the various ships coming and going, but hopefully, it wouldn't come to that since the Emperor liked to convey the appearance the Empire was just a more militant version of the Old Republic but aside from one or two changes, nothing had changed as far as the average citizen was concerned aside from a few slight changes here and there. But for Mace and the rest of the Jedi, and indeed the members of the growing Rebel Alliance, everything had changed.

The Old Republic had been swept aside and although to the rest of the galaxy the only that had changed was the increasingly oppressive presence of the Imperial Military, although hatred for anything related to the Jedi had increased steadily over the years, now it was suffocating thanks to Palpatine, and his apprentice.

Mace closed his eyes momentarily while he tried to use the Force to fight down his disgust for whatever Palpatine had done to his old apprentice, Marcus Ryder, who had been a Padawan before he had been turned to the Dark Side and under Palpatine's direction had gone on to carve a path of murder throughout the galaxy, carving the Empire of the blood of innocents.

Mace had tried to fight his former apprentice, but Marcus had become so steeped in the Dark Side, using the vaapad fighting style now so thoroughly steeped in the darker side of the Force to overwhelm the Jedi Master until he'd been forced to flee.

Darth Vader, which was Marcus's new name, had certainly become a force of destruction and since the Empire's inception five years ago, Vader was responsible personally for the deaths of dozens of Jedi survivors who'd been initially lucky enough to survive the first days of Order 66. But he was also responsible for other atrocities over the years.

The stranglehold of the Sith was becoming tighter and tighter as their Empire spread through the galaxy. The hissing from the boarding ramp of the shuttle brought the Jedi Master out of his thoughts, and he lifted his gaze as Obi-Wan came into view.

Mace smiled slightly as he spotted the other Jedi Master, but his expression became more neutral when he spotted Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, and Bail Organa. All three of them were senators in the Imperial Senate, although Mace wondered for how much longer.

Palpatine knew the three of them were among his most vocal opponents in the Senate during the Clone Wars, and he was unlikely to forgive or forget that just yet, but the good thing was they knew they needed to be cautious for the time being and keep their heads down; Palpatine had amassed virtually unlimited powers during the Wars, as the Emperor his word was law.

There was no doubt in their minds Palpatine eventually planned on dealing with the Senate soon enough, although what he planned to do in the long term…well, only the Sith Lord knew what those were. But Mace wondered what was going to happen to the senators. While they were allies and the Jedi needed all the help they could get if they were to get back on their feet, their old opinions of politicians remained the same.

Nonetheless, Mace bowed courteously towards the senators. "Senators, welcome to Jedha. Hello, Obi-Wan," Mace added with a genuine smile at his fellow Jedi.

Padme secretly noticed the almost cool greeting she and her fellow senators received from the Jedi Master, and the more genuine greeting Windu shared with Obi-Wan. Ever since the dawn of the Clone Wars with that disturbing mess with Anakin when the young Jedi had been expelled from the Jedi Order, Padme had slowly opened her eyes and realised the Jedi were always courteous with her and with the Senators they dealt with, but while some of the Jedi hid it better than others, there was a _distrust _in their manner whenever they dealt with senate members.

Even now, even with the Republic gone and the Jedi on the run, the old distrust was there.

Padme hadn't shared these observations with her fellow senators who were part of the growing alliance. They needed the Jedi in order to face Palpatine and Vader head-on, and any other Sith they encountered in the future. If she told Mon or Bail about the distrust, it would shake and undermine their alliance. So many people distrusted and hated the Jedi now, a hatred now stoked day and night by Palpatine, they didn't need it right now.

Kenobi bowed his head. "Master Windu," he replied, blinking his eyes tiredly, and he even fought down the need to yawn.

"Are you alright?" Mace asked with concern.

Kenobi sighed. "I'm just tired, Master," he whispered.

"Of course," Windu nodded in understanding and he did. Obi-Wan had been scouting the Outer Rim territories for months searching for other Jedi survivors of Order 66, and for other Force-sensitives who'd be willing to face the Sith. A part of Windu was tempted to ask Obi-Wan what he had found out now so he'd have the time to think of what they could do next. But he didn't because there was going to be a meeting of the Jedi Council (not the original council during the Wars, of course; so many Jedi had been lost during the Wars and during Order-66, new members had needed to be elected) so they could form their plans there. "I am surprised you rendezvoused with the Senators on your way here, Obi-Wan," Wind added, gazing at the other Master questioningly.

"What can I say, they saved me a long trip stowing away on other ships. I made a report to Senator Organa about the other matters I was asked to look into, and he suggested it," Obi-Wan said.

Organa shrugged. "It seemed the best option if you were to keep your schedule. Palpatine has had the Imperial fleet making waves in the commercial shipping circles. It could have taken Master Kenobi longer to get here. In any case," Organa's face was grim. "I have a report from one of our agents the Empire has something planned on Corellia. I haven't told the others yet," he nodded towards his fellow Senators, "since I wanted to inform all of you at the same time."

Mace sighed as he remembered the reports he'd received of Palpatine's latest stranglehold although what the plan was for the commercial shipping lines, Windu had no idea although it sounded like the Empire was just tightening its hold in other areas of the galaxy.

But he was intrigued by Organa's comment and it made him wonder what the news was. "Shall we go inside the caves?" he suggested. "The longer we remain out here, the easier it would be for the Imperials to detect us."

Everyone agreed and they headed into the caves. Master Windu led them through passage after passage towards the command centre. It was essentially a large cave with a central holo-table, with stools for seating. Padme looked around, seeing from the hastily set up command stations with the few Jedi present the whole base had been put in very quickly but could be dismantled at any moment. The Jedi had no intention of staying on Jedha for long.

Once they were sitting down, Organa began speaking.

"According to our agents, Palpatine wants a new discovery developed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The story I heard states that two years ago, a number of top scientists had developed a new means of using dark energy to create a rip in something known as sub-hyperspace."

Obi-Wan frowned. "What's that?"

Organa turned to the Jedi Master. "It's a rip in ordinary space. It differs from regular hyperspace since hyperspace travels across the galaxy. Sub-hyperspace travels through it," the senator said in a manner that stated he didn't understand what he was describing anymore than the listeners. "But the point is, with this 'sub-hyperspace' a ship, in theory, can travel through ordinary space…at _faster than light speeds."_

"_Faster than light?" _Mace whispered while Obi-Wan and the other listeners gasped in surprise. "In ordinary space. But we have spent years believing this was impossible."

Organa shrugged. "I thought so as well," he replied. "But our agent on Corellia, who is one of the best, wouldn't have sent it otherwise. Although in the file the agent doesn't know if the scientific team had been looking for it on purpose, or if it was a simple discovery which led to a great discovery. Either way, it doesn't matter; the fact is the Empire has, unsurprisingly, taken a special interest in the development of this new FTL technology. I don't think I need to tell you why. If the Empire gets this technology," he said grimly, "the Empire will be able to travel wherever they want, without needing to worry about the traditional issues with hyperspatial travel. That means they could spread everywhere."

The Jedi Masters shared a look, both knowing with this new technology the Empire could spread into parts of the galaxy none of the current generations of hyperspace explorers had currently explored except for a handful of systems.

"Do any of the agents on Coruscant have any idea what the military is making of this?" Mace asked.

"The Imperial military is demanding the CEC send them all of their scientific and engineering specifications on these experiments. At the moment, the CEC is currently experimenting with a test-bed ship," Bail said while he slipped the memory chip into the holo player.

A ship appeared in 3D above the table. Kenobi looked at it with a critical eye; it didn't look any different from the other conventional ships of its size, but the massive 3D image of a star appeared on the table nearby before a trail of the sun's energy was drawn into the ship. It was like a magnet drawing metal filings away from one place, or water pouring down a waterfall.

"What's that?" Mon asked Bail.

"According to the agent, the energy for the sub-hyperspace drive needs some of the energy of a natural star," Organa replied after quickly checking the file. "The team are currently looking for substitutes without draining suns dry."

"I'm not surprised, given how many inhabited star-systems there are in the galaxy," Obi-Wan commented grimly as he wondered what kind of repercussions this extensive 'mining' would have if there weren't any solutions to be found. If they couldn't find any other type of energy, the dependency on sub-hyperspace might drain the stars and render solar systems as lifeless deserts without any way of supplying them with the life-giving properties of an ordinary system.

"Do we know when the CEC is testing this ship?" Mon asked her fellow senator.

"We don't, but we know it will be some time; the CEC is currently trying to keep the Imperial military from getting hold of the technology," Bail replied, "the CEC board are stating they need to run the tests before they deliver the test ship and the other materials. They have all their best lawyers on the case, each one told to delay the Military. But from what we can tell, Palpatine has secretly told the Imperial Navy to be ready to capture the ship regardless while at the same time reassuring the CEC and the government of Corellia they will let the CEC conduct their trial runs."

"Surely the CEC doesn't trust them?" Padme scoffed.

"They don't," Bail said while he looked down at the file and said no more on the topic. "Nonetheless the CEC are conducting the tests regardless. We even have a report on who is going to be conducting the tests…er, an Anakin Skywalker and a Shanna Woh."

Obi-Wan gasped. "Anakin?" he whispered, noticing his fellow Jedi's reaction to the news as well as Padme's.

"You know him, Master Kenobi?" Mon asked curiously.

Obi-Wan sighed. "You could say that," he said, sending a mental message to Mace to let him do the talking. "Anakin….well, he was a Jedi."

"Was? You mean he was expelled?" Organa leaned in.

"Yes," Obi-Wan sighed again, his mind haunted by the memory of Anakin's screams of pain as the Council severed his Force connection, and a snide part of his mind wondered and even desired for Padme, who was looking both excited and yet ashamed, to speak up so she would admit her own part in the horrible mess. "He was expelled before the Clone Wars. It's a long story," he added when he realised Padme was not going to say a word, "but the fact is….well, Anakin was an extremely powerful person in the Force, and members of the Council were worried about what he would do if he found himself out of our jurisdiction. So we severed his Force connection."

Mon and Organa gasped while Padme looked down at her hands, her long glossy hair falling into her face so they couldn't see her expression. "Is that possible?"

"It is," Mace whispered sternly. "It isn't a conventional procedure, I grant you, but at the time it was the best thing we could do."

"The best thing you could do?" Padme lifted her head, looking shattered by what she was hearing and probably her own part in the whole affair. "When I told you what had happened, I didn't think you would do that to him."

"Hold on, you knew about this Padme?" Organa gaped at his colleague and friend questioningly.

Padme sighed and nodded. "I did. You see…Anakin wasn't like the rest of the Order. He had grown up in the Outer-Rim territories, and he had been raised by a loving mother, so family meant a lot to him. I met him when I was fourteen so this took place during my tenure as the Queen of Naboo, and he was nine at the time, but he was madly in love with me then. He had been haunted by the death of his mother in dreams, but by the time he and I reached Tatooine to find her and make sure she was alright, she was dead. Anakin went mad and slaughtered the murderers, and when he tried to ask for my hand in marriage, I turned him away. He protested and things became…ugly, so I reported him to the Jedi Council." She glared at the Jedi while keeping quiet on what she meant by the word ugly. "But I never imagined the Jedi would do what they did."

Obi-Wan was tired of the argument. "Believe me, Padme," he said quietly although they could hear the pain in his voice over what had happened to his old apprentice, "this isn't the time or the place for a fight."

"Don't tell me what to do, Master Kenobi!" Padme glared at him.

"Enough!" Mace snapped, standing up while he used the Force to prevent the argument from getting out of hand. "We need to discuss what we are going to do about this situation."


	2. Chapter 2

I am so sorry it's taken so long to upload this, but I hope you enjoy what I've written. As usual, I don't own Star Wars.

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Galactic Vigilante.

"Mm," Master Yoda said as he processed the news Master's Windu and Kenobi had given him concerning the CEC experiment. "Unexpected, this is."

Obi-Wan fidgeted in his chair as he watched the flickering form of Master Yoda and some of the other Masters. The Jedi Purges had scattered the remaining Jedi through the galaxy, and only a few members of the Council had survived. All the others had either died in the first day of the Purges, either in the Temple itself on Coruscant, or on other planets during the Clone Wars.

When Order 66 had come…

Obi-Wan closed his eyes as he remembered the waves of pain, suffering, and death in the Force on the day of Order 66. It was even worse when he had heard the screams and the death cries in the Force on other worlds, but when he remembered the screams in the Force coming from the Temple…he knew the cries of all the younglings and the apprentices screaming in terror and agony before they were killed by either the Clone Troopers or Vader when they'd invaded the Temple would haunt him until the day he died. It was worse for Master Yoda given how close the aged Grand Master had been to the children.

Most of the Council were on other worlds in remote sectors of the galaxy, or some were actually deep inside Imperial Territory so they could spy on the Empire while they remained in hiding from both Palpatine and Vader. Other Jedi Masters were a part of the Rebellion which was growing all the time as more and more oppressed people flocked to resist the Empire, while others took part in missions either granted by the Council or on their own initiative to find other Jedi survivors while making sure they never encountered Darth Vader.

While Palpatine remained on Coruscant which had become the Imperial Capital, Vader travelled from one system to another as the second in command of the Empire which was his unofficial title, but every Jedi and member of the Rebellion knew Vader was looking for any sign of them and was putting down all resistance in the galaxy. In the last five years, Obi-Wan knew Vader had managed to kill many Jedi survivors.

Obi-Wan had no idea where in the galaxy Master Yoda was currently hiding; the ancient Grand Master of the Jedi Master had been shaken by his failed duel with Palpatine, a duel which showed that while Master Yoda knew better than to push his limitations with his powers.

Aside from himself, Yoda and Mace, the other Masters to have survived were the Dark Woman, Master Fisto, and Master Shaak Ti, and Master Gallia. That was it. There was no doubt in Obi-Wan's mind there were likely to be other Jedi Masters out there who had survived, but they were either laying low or they were part of smaller resistance movements against the Empire. Obi-Wan wished them luck, and he hoped to be reunited with those Jedi whom he had known, and whom he had missed for so long in this warped galaxy.

"Unexpected is an understatement," Mace shook his head while he looked from one Jedi Master to the next solemnly. "We never expected to hear about Skywalker ever again."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I tried to contact him a few times during the war, but I never got a reply."

Mace and Yoda exchanged a look, and Obi-Wan went still. "What is it?" he asked tensely, sensing something amiss. But Obi-Wan instinctively guessed whatever the two Jedi Masters were hiding because he was certain they were hiding something, it was bad.

"Send messages to you, Skywalker did. Blocked them under order of myself and Master Windu. Block messages to him, by you, our order did," Master Yoda admitted.

Obi-Wan thought for a moment he had misheard. "You blocked our messages?" he whispered.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A part of Obi-Wan wondered if he had somehow fallen into a parallel universe without his knowledge, or at the very least into one where the Jedi Order didn't adhere to the concept of privacy because, in Obi-Wan's eyes, the senior members of the Order did not do something like this.

At the very least it explained a lot, like why Anakin hadn't contacted him. Obi-Wan had been hurt, especially since he had always thought, barring their arguments, he and Anakin were firm friends. But Obi-Wan had gradually realised at the time before he'd even learnt of this dirty little secret that Anakin just simply wanted nothing to do with him anymore, and as a result, he had gone on his own way. It wasn't as if he didn't have responsibilities anymore, and as Obi-Wan thought about it, he realised the Jedi Masters had a good reason even though he had seen for himself just how poorly thought his old apprentice was even if Anakin's actions had been far from laudable.

He had the war to worry about, the constant battles, being on the move, having to rely on dodgy intelligence while he and his new apprentice, which had probably been a slap in the face where Anakin was concerned, had to deal with the Separatists before Palpatine unveiled the true horror of his grand plan to not only destroy the Jedi which his Sith forefathers had longed to destroy for countless generations, but to bring the galaxy under his thumb.

But now, finding out the Masters he had followed so faithfully for so long had interfered with his privacy was a major blow, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was at a loss about what he should do about it. On top of that Obi-Wan wondered what would happen when he met Anakin again, there was no doubt in his mind Anakin would be hurt by the lack of contact.

Master Windu sighed. "We had to, Obi-Wan," the Jedi Master said, confirming his thoughts. "We needed all of our most experienced Masters in order to fight in the war, and you are still one of our best Masters. You needed to be focused," he said in a manner which made it clear to Obi-Wan this was going to be made about them as well, "we all did, and we couldn't let your attachment to Skywalker cloud your mind."

The reply would have satisfied anyone else, but Obi-Wan wasn't. When Obi-Wan had been an apprentice himself, he had followed the Code to the letter. It had been expected of him, although his Master had never really been as staunch a follower as some would wish. Qui-Gon had always been a maverick, and he had really tried to make it clear to the young Kenobi the rules were flawed. Not mistakes, not misunderstandings, but sometimes flawed in how they were thought out.

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan had never seen it like that. He had begun to see the flaws in the Order on the day Anakin had been expelled, and the screams which had come from Anakin before he'd ended up in the infirmary following the procedure before he'd been unceremoniously kicked out of the Temple would haunt Obi-Wan until the day he became one with the Force.

Other flaws came out during the war; the mess where Ahsoka was expelled and framed for something she hadn't done, the way dozens of plans were thought about, and how the Knights and Padawans who wanted to leave during the war because they couldn't cope with the bloodshed occurring out in the galaxy were treated, it had Obi-Wan, who was a kindhearted man at heart, wonder if the war was warping the Jedi to the point where they would be the very monsters they were fighting.

The Jedi Master had been sitting on the Council for a long time, and as a result he had become familiar with the politics of the Order. A part of him wondered if the Jedi Masters had done it deliberately to keep him and Anakin apart.

"Enough of this; what happened with Anakin was regretful," Master Gallia interrupted, looking firmly but respectfully at the three Masters, "but we don't have time to debate the issue; we have to think about what we're going to do about this news. If Palpatine gets hold of this test ship, he will soon have a fleet of ships built to cross into territories currently unknown to us. We need to find a way of stopping him, and the easiest idea would be to sabotage the ship."

"With Anakin onboard, Master Gallia?" Obi-Wan asked pointedly before he shook his head. "Anakin probably knows about the danger already."

"What makes you say that?"

"Anakin, despite being reckless, is far from stupid. He knows now he is no match for either Vader or Palpatine in his current state," Obi-Wan explained, "so he has probably tried to lay as low as he could; I don't know what he's been doing for a long time, so there's no telling if he's got something in mind, but he knows with this type of Faster than Light drive, Palpatine will have fleets of ships going into the Unexplored regions of the galaxy, maybe further beyond. Unfortunately, with his name out in the open since there's no doubt Palpatine knows who'll be crewing the test ship by now, Anakin knows how dangerous it will be."

The Dark Witch nodded. "I see where you're going, Master Kenobi," she said, tilting her head back thoughtfully, "but I am still not clear on what we can do in this current situation?"

Master Yoda grumbled. "Speak to Skywalker, we must," he said, holding up a hand to forestall any protests. "In the best position to help us, he is."

Master Windu glanced at the older Master, clearly not happy about what was being suggested. "Can we trust him?"

"Anakin may be reckless and he let us down, but he is probably more than aware of the danger if Palpatine gets his hands on this technology, Master Windu. In any case, do we really have any choice?" Obi-Wan looked pointedly at the Korun Jedi Master. "The Empire has inquisitors out there which makes it nearly impossible for us to travel through the galaxy to make any difference. Two of us can reach Corellia, and we can speak to Anakin without the Empire knowing."

The Council stilled. The Inquisitors were an organisation of dark-sided Force-sensitives which had been formed in the aftermath of Order 66 by Palpatine. They were made up of fallen Jedi who had miraculously survived the destruction of the Order, but had been turned and twisted by the Dark Side, and now they were dedicated to hunting down and destroying what was left of their former friends and colleagues of the Jedi Order. All members of the Council had survived many encounters with the Inquisitors, either through luck or by using their superior skill and experience to fight them off, although the dark side fuelled their aggressiveness.

"You've made a good point, Obi-Wan," Master Gallia began slowly, "but how long do you suppose it will take you to get close to Skywalker?"

Obi-Wan looked down at the floor wearily, although there was a tinge of frustration burning away inside of him. They were stalling; he knew that. He knew this was the best chance they had of dealing with this problem, but their distrust for Anakin was making them stall in the hope one of the other Masters could come up with something better.

"If I went now, I could reach Corellia in a few days. But if I went with Senator Organa who could travel there to make contact with other members of the Alliance there, I could get through in just a day. After that, I could spend another day finding where on Corellia Anakin lives. Once I've found him, I can speak to him."

"Would Skywalker really help us?" Master Windu asked, the scepticism thick in his voice.

Obi-Wan turned to face him. "I don't think we have much choice," he said in as sage a manner as possible. "It would be easier for someone on the inside of this test to deal with this crisis and nip it in the bud as it were before it becomes a major problem than for someone on the outside to get involved. But if we can speak to Anakin, we can hopefully persuade him to help us."

However, as soon as the Jedi Master finished with his suggestion, he sighed inwardly and he had to vent his irritation into the Force when he saw for himself they still weren't entirely convinced even though they could see the logic to his argument. He sighed. Why was it everything about Anakin always made the Jedi Council, even if it had been reduced to this sorry state, behave like a group of children throwing a tantrum and pointing the blame around?

Obi-Wan sighed as he prepared himself for another round with them, only this time he hoped he could find the words needed to persuade then, but fortunately, he knew he wouldn't need to do too much since he could see they had accepted the truth of his words. Now all he needed to do was keep going.

This was going to take a while.

XXX

Padme sat back and watched as her friends and colleagues and allies processed what she had just said to them. She had just spent the past hour telling Mon and Bail about her history with Anakin; how they had met on the lawless lump of sand known as Tatooine, the pod race which had not only won his freedom from Watto, which surprised and horrified both Senators since they, like herself, found the whole practice of slavery to be disgusting and they couldn't imagine something as unthinkable as a sentient being owning another sentient being like a pet, but a pet who did everything from cooking, cleaning, gardening, everything.

She described all of it, how Anakin had initially been refused to be trained as a Jedi for reasons she had never understood before he had destroyed the Droid Control ship which had been the stranglehold around Naboo during the invasion the Trade Federation had enforced on her beloved world. She described their meeting a decade later, how she had nearly been assassinated multiple times before the Jedi Council and Palpatine when the Emperor's identity as a Sith Lord was still unknown had ordered that she return home with Anakin as her bodyguard. Padme described the days she'd spent in Anakin's company, how he had eventually confessed he loved her. She told Bail and Mon about the mess of how she had pushed him away when the war had started, and how things had turned ugly enough for him to lose his temper and shove her away. Bail was horrified that a man, a _Jedi _would do something like that.

Padme went on, telling her friends about her complaint to the Jedi Council before they had shocked her with the sentence they had in mind for Anakin. "And when I was there, I saw for myself how everyone in the Council distrusted Anakin, and it went back a long way," she went on, "I was there when they decreed Anakin would be expelled, but they went further than that. They made Obi-Wan sever some kind of bond, and I saw it left Anakin shaken. I remained near the Council chamber for a bit before I started down the way, escorted by one of the Knights….and then I heard a terrible screaming."

Bail's eyes widened in horror. Mon wasn't that far off. "They were _torturing _him?"

"I don't know," Padme admitted. "I know nothing about the Force, and I tried asking the Knight about the procedure, but she was too shaken herself to properly answer my questions. After that I had little to do with the Council.

"I never saw Anakin again. I tried to contact him dozens of times, but he ignored my messages. In the end he became so frustrated he sent back a letter saying he never wanted to see or hear from me ever again, and after that, he changed his communication codes so I couldn't contact him ever again. I tried once or twice, but I never managed to get through to him."

That was one of the most painful parts of the whole mess, really, and she saw the equally painful irony; she had denied she loved Anakin when he had pressed her during that nasty confrontation on Naboo, and when he had lost everything that had made him who he was, she had changed her mind and tried to show him she loved him back in reversal so instead of Anakin pursuing her, she had pursued him, only to get slapped in the face.

"What do you mean, you had little to do with the Council?" Mothma pressed.

Padme sighed. She knew she would need to make sure her beliefs the Jedi Order didn't trust her or other politicians for that matter didn't get out since both the Order and the growing Rebellion still needed each other, and they needed the Jedi more than ever to stop Palpatine and Vader, and indeed any more Sith that may appear in the future. If it got out the Jedi inwardly distrusted politicians then there would be tension between both sides and that was the last thing they needed.

"I didn't like the way they treated Anakin," she said to them. "They pretty much admitted Anakin was more powerful than they were, and yet they were prepared to shove him away because they simply did not trust him for reasons that were never clear when he could have been a great ally during the war. But there's time to change that."

"What do you mean?" Bail had the impression there was more to what Padme was saying, and one glance at Mon told him she had seen it as well. But there was plenty of time for that.

"I know Anakin; he's not the type of man to bow his head and let some two-faced piece of slime like Palpatine take over like that; even before he was a Jedi he was headstrong enough to jump into a star-fighter and blow up a Droid Control Ship," Padme replied, hoping that she was right in her statement although truthfully she had no idea what Anakin was like now since apparently, he didn't have access to his powers as a Jedi anymore.

"That may be true, Padme," Mon Mothma's voice showed her scepticism. "But if what you are saying is true, how is it we have never heard of this Skywalker before if he is the fighting type you have just described?"

Padme wanted to retort but at the same time, she knew her friend and fellow senator had a point. If Anakin had been on Corellia all this time, why hadn't he done anything? A part of her cruelly jibbed it was her fault but at the same time, she had to accept the fact there were so many people fighting the Empire anonymously while others proudly resisted the type of world Palpatine was pushing on the galaxy for the next ten millennia or so, a decision which obviously got them killed or imprisoned. Personally, Padme would prefer to die than be imprisoned by the Empire since Palpatine's sadism had filtered down into the prison system until prison had become a place to avoid.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I intend to find out," she went on as the decision sparked in her brain. It was as a door had opened up into a room of clarity and she had stepped into it. "I'm going to Corellia."


	3. Chapter 3

Galactic Vigilante.

Obi-Wan couldn't believe what he was hearing; there were times he thought Padme lived in a different reality, but even that mess she had gotten herself into when she had decided to go with Anakin to Geonosis was sane compared to this. He had needed to use every scrap of experience he had just to persuade the Council to send him and another member to Corellia so they could meet with Anakin.

In the end, the Council had agreed with his logic, and they had decided to despatch Master Windu since the Korun Master was one of three Jedi Masters currently on Jedha with the small Jedi group. Obi-Wan didn't personally believe the idea was a wise one given how little Mace thought about Anakin, but Mace was the only Master who could be spared since Master Fisto was taking the other Jedi to a different location while the Korun Master's original mission was to meet with another group of Jedi dedicated to the training of some of the remaining Padawans to gauge their level.

Personally, Obi-Wan didn't think it was a good idea. While he had no idea how Anakin would react, Obi-Wan knew he would probably get a warmer reception from his former apprentice than the Korun Master.

But _Padme…._

Had the irritating woman taken leave of her senses? Did she really think Anakin would welcome her with open arms? In truth, Obi-Wan realised in hindsight the chances of Padme keeping out of this were a million to one, but he really wished she had the common sense to realise it was a bad idea her coming with them. "No, Padme," he said firmly when he regained control over his composure.

But the Imperial Senator was resolute with her very unwise decision. "Obi-Wan, I need to go," she said.

_Why is this blasted stubborn woman so determined to come? _

"Padme, I want you to listen to me," Obi-Wan said slowly so then the woman understood this was not some kind of political game, but he was also aware Master Windu himself was watching and Obi-Wan knew how his fellow Jedi Master felt about politicians, "myself and Master Windu are going to have trouble getting to Corellia as it is without you there."

Padme glared back at him. "Don't patronise me, Master Kenobi. I know and understand the risks."

Obi-Wan sighed under his breath and decided to try another tactic.

"Padme, it could take us ages to arrive at Corellia, and it could take us even longer to get into CEC to meet with Anakin." Not for the first time, Obi-Wan was eternally grateful his years in the Temple had taught him the value of patience, but there was something about the woman in front of him which grated on the nerves. "What would you be doing in that time?"

Padme's posture shifted from confident and decisive to unsure quicker than a ship going into hyperspace. "I-I don't know," she stuttered.

_Why doesn't that surprise me? _Obi-Wan thought to himself. But before he could say anything else since he knew the only way to keep Padme out of this was to use brutal honesty, she came up with something else. "I can get you to Corellia. You can board my ship-," she tried, and Obi-Wan closed his eyes when he saw the blasted woman was making a good point although it was still dangerous since the Imperial Navy was keeping a tight watch over the entire galaxy.

He turned to Master Windu when he heard the Jedi Master's voice in his mind. _She makes good points, Obi-Wan. _

_True, but I don't want her coming. Master, Anakin lost his Force abilities because of Padme, and we both know how much he'd lost whatever infatuation he'd had for her. This will blow up in our faces; Anakin is not the most forgiving of people if you push a certain way. _

_Then that will be a benefit. _

_For some, but not for us. We need to speak to Anakin and find a way of persuading him to do something about the test ship. The last thing we need is a politician with delusions of grandeur getting in the way. _

_I don't like it either, believe me, Obi-Wan. Ideally, you and I would be going on our own. But if we can use her to get us to Corellia faster then it would save us time. _

_And what would happen when we arrive on Corellia? The problem with Senator Amidala is she is very stubborn, and she never does as she is told. Even if we told her not to come with us then she will disobey. In any case, her thoughts about Anakin are not ones I think he'd share. _

A mental sigh came through the connection. _We have no alternative, Obi-Wan. But while we're en-route to Corellia, we can discuss ideas of keeping her away from Skywalker. _

Obi-Wan wasn't sure of that, but he closed his eyes in exasperation before he turned to Padme. "Alright, Padme. You can take us to Corellia," he began but he went on quickly as a smile of triumph spread across the woman's face, "but when we get there, we don't want you to interfere with Anakin; you've done enough damage as it is."

"Me?" Padme repeated, glaring at them with disbelief. "What about you? You broke whatever link you had with him, and you removed his Force powers. How do you think he's going to react when he sees _you, _Masters Kenobi and Windu."

As much as Obi-Wan wanted to believe otherwise, he knew she had a point and he cursed her for it. But at the same time, he was trying to think of the best way to handle this situation. He knew Anakin, knew how dangerous his moods and his anger could be, but he didn't know just how much his former apprentice had changed in the years since they'd last met. In truth, Obi-Wan was dreading it. He only hoped they could meet on their own since he had gotten along better with Anakin than Master Windu ever had even if Anakin had always respected the elder Jedi Master.

But Padme…

Obi-Wan knew she was an important element in getting them to Corellia without troubles, but he had no idea what Anakin would do if he saw her again. The worst-case scenario would be Anakin losing his temper and physically going for Padme, but he doubted it would happen since Anakin wasn't that type of man. What had happened on Naboo didn't count; that was more down to Palpatine's manipulations of Anakin than anything else, and it only made him regret not trying to stop it from happening in the first place, but considering what he knew now of Palpatine and what had happened with Vader, Obi-Wan dreaded to think what could have happened to Anakin in the long term if Anakin had been turned.

And Padme would have been at the centre of it all.

Palpatine would have used Anakin's former attachment to her for his own ends, and he would have likely gained a young, powerful apprentice. If there was one thing all Masters - Light and Dark - had in common, it was a desire to train the most gifted, the most powerful. Obi-Wan's training for Anakin had always been challenging, but that was only because of the boy's personality. Anakin had always been headstrong, but at the same time he had been curious and he had put a lot of effort into getting everything right. Obi-Wan had lost count of the number of times he had woken up early and found Anakin had slipped out and had gone somewhere in the Temple to either read or to practice his Force powers, particularly the ones he had always had a problem with.

To cut it all off had been one of the hardest things he'd ever needed to do. Obi-Wan knew one of his biggest drawbacks was he was just not the sort of man to defy the Jedi Council, never mind their Code.

But while he was upset at the reminder, the emotion he was feeling the most was a wave of slow anger. "I don't need to be reminded of the past, especially by you," he told the senator calmly, but she knew him well enough to know he was getting annoyed and she was crossing the line, "I'm just worried about your presence."

"And what about my presence?" Padme hissed.

"I just think it would be a bad idea if you met with Anakin," Obi-Wan knew he was crossing a line himself with what he was saying to her since there was a strong possibility Padme could change her mind easily, and say they could fend for themselves, but he didn't care. In any case, Obi-Wan doubted very much she would do that; Padme wanted to see Anakin, even though a part of her must accept the fact no matter what, Anakin would just dismiss her.

There was no doubt in his mind that it was going to happen. He had sensed Anakin's hurt when Padme had reported him in the Council chamber in the Temple, and he knew Padme was likely not one of his favourite people anymore, next to him of course. But Padme refused to believe it. She seemed to be under the belief that after speaking to him for a few minutes, Anakin would be wrapped around her little finger.

No chance.

Padme needed to learn not every problem could be solved with diplomacy.

"Just say what you're trying to say, Obi-Wan!"

Obi-Wan sighed under his breath. He had been hoping to say this as tactfully as possible otherwise he and Mace really would be spending weeks getting to Corellia. "Alright, I know you are holding out hope Anakin will return whatever romantic feelings you're showing. Your mind is easy to read, Padme. It's impairing your judgement."

Obi-Wan and the other onlookers could honestly say they had never seen the good senator so angry before. Her face was a picture.

"How dare you-!" Padme's voice was hoarse while her petite frame shook with rage, her face incandescent with rage.

"You can't deny it," Obi-Wan interrupted. "Padme, trust me. Anakin does not love you anymore. I saw it in his mind while the Council were punishing him. He knew what he had done was wrong, but when you threw it in his face he lost whatever love he felt for you. Believe me, Padme. If you just take us to Corellia, fine. But don't meet him yourself. You won't like what you find."

"But if I can speak to him-."

"It won't make any difference. Look, I know Anakin. Far better than you do. I spent ten years as his Master between the Battle of Naboo and when Palpatine had those Bounty Hunters chasing you; you may have spent time with him when you were both children, but Anakin the young man is different. The more you argue with him, try to make him see a different point of view, the more stubborn he will become. Trust me, it isn't worth it. In any case, you are partly the reason he has lost a good deal of what made him who he was. Do you really think he will forgive that?" Obi-Wan asked, feeling Master Windu's irritation and impatience through the Force. Well, he knew how the senior Jedi Master and Champion of the Order felt. He felt certain he was going round and round in a loop. If this was anything that Padme's former competitors and rivals in the senate felt, then he pitied them even more.

"I have to try," Padme went on stubbornly.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, fine," he said, tired of arguing with her. "Come with us, but don't get your hopes up."

_Are you sure this is wise?_

Obi-Wan wasn't surprised to hear the question from Master Windu. _I know its not wise, Master. But the problem with Padme here is she thinks with her emotions rather than her common sense, and now she realises how wrong she was in the first place, she refuses to believe Anakin won't react badly when they meet. She will come with us, and truthfully I think its a good idea if she does. She needs to wake up, and she will, especially if Anakin rejects her. _

_I don't think I will ever understand romance, _Obi-Wan heard Master Windu sigh mentally.

_Neither will I, Master, neither will I. Still, I know one thing…_

_What?_

_Anakin will likely break her heart, and truthfully I can't say I truly care. _


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Star Wars.

Feedback would be nice.

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Galactic Vigilante.

Anakin cursed to himself as his ship jumped again, wincing as he felt the inertial dampeners trying to compensate for the lack of stability as his recently purchased secondhand ship shot out of hyperspace.

Why had he bought this ramshackle piece of junk when he could have taken a ship that was at least thirty years old? Yes, he had left in a hurry, and he had thought all the work he had pushed into the ship's engines and its navigational systems would do for a trip to Jedha and then a return trip back. Now he wasn't too sure. This thing was pushing at least sixty years old at least and there had been extensive damage to the hyperdrive and to the spaceframe when he'd bought it, and it had been through more meteorite storms and damage than he would have liked, but he had taken it because he had thought the old thing deserved some respect.

In any case, he had been in something of a hurry to find a ship so he could fix up for the future. His colleagues at the CEC had known he had a nice, small, but growing collection of old ships that he wanted to restore and to keep, and they also knew of his habit of taking them out on test drives through different systems to test their hyperdrives to see if they needed replacing.

That was the best cover for a trip to Jedha. But now he was regretting it. Why hadn't he taken one of those newer ships of his collection instead of this old thing?

All right, he had thought this ship would be good enough for his self-appointed mission so he could satisfy his own curiosity, and he had assumed that he had made enough repairs, fixing up the space frame, the hyperdrive, and the navigation systems would be strong enough to work for a distance like this.

But so many of the systems of the ship were shoddy; Anakin was now really tempted to shoot the used-spaceship dealer who'd given him this thing.

Yes, he was aware he had needed to get to this system quickly, and this ship had been the first thing he'd had access to even if he had quite a few other ships in his collection. He just hadn't had the time to inspect the ship to make sure it was truly flight-capable for this little trip.

That had been his fault. But now he was here, he was worried the bloody thing was not going to get him back home to Corellia.

"Damn it," he cursed, holding on tightly to the control yokes. After the recently acquired, and heavily patched up starship exited the hyperspace vortex, Anakin took a moment to look around the star system he'd just appeared from.

At least he'd made it.

He had arrived at Jedha. His arrival had already been noticed; he spotted the Imperial Star-Destroyers and dozens of TIE fighters orbiting Jedha, the fighters reminding him of plagues of insects with terrible venomous stingers in their tails.

He closed his eyes with a sigh of relief this dilapidated piece of junk might be falling apart at the seams and it was shaking from the chassis, but at least the nav computer functioned as well as it could, but that was only because he had serviced the ship. The nav screen flickered, and he sighed in irritation before he gently thumped it.

"Honestly," he muttered to himself, pleased this ship had only a one-man crew so no-one bore witness to him swearing at this thing. "How many times do I need to fix this thing before it works? Oh come on, be more cooperative."

The pain went right through his body as his ship hit the atmosphere. Damn, that hurt! Anakin cursed the inertial dampeners again; they had been awful when the trip through hyperspace had taken place, and his stomach had twisted into knots and then had been thrown around inside his chest until he was nearly sick. Space sickness had never affected him in the past, but this time was likely an exception. Maybe he should call Shanna and get picked up by her, he was really beginning to wonder if this thing would even last the trip through the atmosphere of another world after being blasted through hyperspace. He was starting to think this thing should be scrapped completely and then forgotten.

Anakin sighed, a nasty thought entering his mind. Would this thing even last the landing? With that in his mind, he carefully checked the instruments - he normally rushed through this procedure, not out of confidence, but mostly because he knew the ships would take it. But not this one. He was worried if he pushed it too hard, it would fall apart.

"Easy does it," he whispered to himself as he valiantly tried to keep the ship from crashing. "Easy…"

He had never felt this nervous about landing a ship before, but he needn't have worried. Barring a nasty jolt which was barely suppressed by the landing gear, the ship actually landed very well right in the spaceport of the Holy City of Jedha. Anakin smiled optimistically while he checked the controls after giving himself a moment or two to assess that he was alright and the flight hadn't been as jarring as he'd thought. Still hoping that now the landing was done everything would be alright, Anakin checked the ships' systems. And then he groaned in frustration. Instantly, his expression turned dark and sullen.

"Bantha Shit!" he growled. The ship's sub-light engines had given out on him, but he felt it wasn't that surprising considering the recent strain the flight had put them under. Anakin cursed as he read the read-outs on the status of the faster-than-light systems; again he doubted he should be that surprised, the drive had been under a tremendous amount of strain, and he had been worried since the vortex had almost collapsed while he was trapped inside.

He was just relieved his luck had remained with him and his ship hadn't collapsed, although he was uncertain if that was because he had worked and modified the hyperdrive, although it was possible the same modifications had the reverse effect and made the system more unstable.

It might have left him a few years back when he had still been a Jedi, only for that bitch and the puppets of the Jedi Council who sucked the cocks of the Senate to take what had made him who he was, but he had always known he was lucky at times.

Anakin sighed, pushing the past out of his head. He opened the cockpit and he got out of the ship, ignoring the workers and the starship crews and stormtroopers going about their business without bothering him, and he examined the ship. When he had bought this ship, Anakin had been impressed with the design, which was essentially an augmented star-fighter more than anything else, and the hyperdrive had been of vintage albeit obsolete design. He had fallen in love with her, even if he loved the _Shmi _the most.

Anakin grabbed a heavy pair of work gloves from the cockpit and his trusty toolbox, and he unlocked the panels which protected the delicate hyperdrive, taking note of the burn marks on the hull, and he speculated the burns were from the friction as the ship had ridden through the atmosphere. He ignored the burns and carried on examining the ship, automatically wincing from the heat, but he pressed on.

It took Anakin over half an hour to examine the hyperdrive and he was pleased no-one was coming over to speak to him about this ship. The hyperdrive was still workable, but Anakin doubted it would get him back to Corellia.

He then examined the sub-light engines, and he saw the computer hadn't been exaggerating when he had received that damage report, the engines were in no shape to lift-off and get him out of Jedha's atmosphere. Anakin groaned, knowing that he would need to go through a lot of red-tape to get rid of this old ship, and he would need to call Shanna for help getting back since it was better since they always looked out for each other.

XXX

The Spaceport managerial staff were understandably put out by the fact he had littered their dock with a ship which was no longer fully operational, but when he had told them the model number and type of ship, they had instantly seen the profits of fixing the ship up or scrapping it. Anakin wasn't really surprised by how easy it was done, nor how quickly.

It was an occupational hazard for spaceports throughout the galaxy to suddenly find themselves lumbered with a piece of scrap which could barely fly through the air, never mind the vacuum of space, but they were always looking for good deals.

There was always a collector who dealt in rare designs of starship, or a scrap merchant. Considering the state of the economy on Jedha, Anakin honestly had no idea what would happen to the ship he had used to get here, and truthfully while it broke his heart a little bit, he doubted the spaceport people would go too far.

Anakin headed for a nearby cantina and after getting himself something to drink, he pulled out his comlink and called Shanna's code.

"_Anakin, what's wrong? Where are you?" _

"I'm on Jedha, Shanna," Anakin replied, momentarily wondering what time it was on Corellia before he put it out of his mind, but it must be quite early since she sounded tired but since he had devoted a whole night to work on his collection of space ships, he hadn't noticed the time. "I had to leave quickly."

"_Oh? You mean you've got what you wanted to know?" _

"No, not yet. I've only just arrived, but I'm already in trouble. I had to leave in a hurry, and the hyperdrive of the ship I was using is just too heavily damaged," Anakin said.

"_Oh, Anakin! You weren't using that old ship you've been working on for the last few weeks, were you?"_

"Unfortunately, yes. I told you, I needed to leave quickly."

"_And now you need me to pick you up?"_

"Not right at this moment, but get ready anyway. I'm likely to be here for a few hours but come as soon as you can. I'll set up a homing beacon outside of the Holy City, and you can pick me up from there."

Shanna sighed on the other end. _"Okay, I'll pick you up. But you'd better owe me one for this, Skywalker."_

Anakin chuckled, knowing that although she had said it in a jesting way Shanna was quite serious. "I'll see you then."

After he had switched off and pocketed the comlink, and he rubbed his face before he drank some of the drink and walked out of the cantina without leaving a tip.

What he didn't notice was a woman was watching him go, a Togrutan woman. She had been sitting in the cantina idly, but as soon as she noticed him, she was stunned. As soon as he walked out of the cantina, she stood up and followed him.

XXX

It had been a long time since Anakin had walked through the streets of Jedha, but as he walked through the city today he was surprised - and horrified - by the changes which had taken place on the once peaceful world. He had to fight down the disgust as he saw the looks of oppression on the faces of the locals who lived here, while the Imperials walked through confidently as if they owned the planet, and believed they had the right to do what they were doing to the people here.

Once upon a time, this ancient world had been home to the first scholars in the galaxy who had explored the marvels of the Force, and many outside of the Jedi Order believed the first temple of the Order had been built here. Once this planet had been visited by pilgrims, travellers, explorers, and adventurers before hyperspace routes were discovered and made the planet obsolete.

Except to the Jedi, of course.

Anakin smiled privately to himself as he remembered how he had visited the planet to collect his first kyber crystal for his lightsaber. Back then, he had visited the temples, and although he was an impatient boy at the time, Anakin had felt the Force calling to him….

Not anymore. Ever since the Jedi had virtually amputated his ability to perceive the Force, Anakin had been left with nothing, but he had always admired the planet. Every time the Jedi had visited the planet, they were expected to tour the Holy City and the other sacred locations on the moon in order to bask in the history of the Force. Not anymore. Now, with there likely being few Jedi left in the galaxy, the only things you were likely to see were Imperial Officers and stormtroopers.

One thing of note was when Anakin came to one of the central streets of the city, there he was forced to stop and wait with the crowd as the convoy of Imperial speeders of the heavy-duty industrial kind moved slowly through the streets. Anakin's eyes crinkled a little as he watched the proceedings, taking note of the number of stormtroopers and Imperial walkers who were escorting the convoy through the streets which were too tight for any resistance activity, which would be extremely foolish and short-lived, and he took notice of the crates on the speeders. They were large, but Anakin had no idea if the kyber crystals inside them were large themselves, or there was an enormous collection of them. It was impossible for him to tell at this point.

No matter. He had an appointment to keep.

Anakin turned and walked away from the convoy, and he walked into one of the temples. As he entered the temple, he instantly spotted his contact who was standing next to the entrance casually. A tall man with a hard face worn down with wrinkles which told a story in themselves and a hardness that told Anakin this man would have no trouble killing him with iron-grey hair, wearing thick and voluminous robes with a cowl.

"Saw Gerrerra?" Anakin said; he knew this man's face and his reputation, but he just wanted to make sure.

"That's me. They say you wanted to talk to me, and that you've come all the way from Corellia."

"Yes," Anakin replied, looking around. "Is there somewhere more peaceful we can speak."

"This is it."

Anakin looked around himself in surprise. "But this is the doorway-."

"And I want to make this quick," Saw replied in a harsh whisper. "I have already spent two hours here, sitting in contemplation waiting for you. But I want to leave as soon as possible. In any case, my men are nearby to keep watch."

Anakin sighed internally, wishing he hadn't said a word. Saw was a combat veteran with years of experience and judgement, and he would know of the dangers of discovery. In any case, at the entrance of the temple, he could keep watch of who was outside and who was about to come in. "Alright."

He should have expected Saw's harshness, really. When he had first contacted the man - which had been a feat in itself, but even with the Rebel Alliance had connections between every single planet in the Empire, Saw had been hard to get in touch with - Anakin had recently heard about the Empire's exploitation of Jedha, and he had heard rumours of the mining surveyors who were being sent to the planet. Anakin, despite no longer being a Jedi, knew enough of Sith history to know the significance of what Palpatine was doing.

Palpatine had a superweapon out there somewhere - Anakin had no way of knowing how long it would be until it was finished, or even just how potent it was, but he knew enough of the Sith to know it would be enough to spread fear and terror through the galaxy, and even with his depleted resources - aka, his lack of Force powers, he didn't want the galaxy to suffer because of the Sith plans.

"Alright, Saw, you've made your point. I got your message," Anakin said, at last, wanting to just get on with it.

Saw nodded. "Obviously, but I don't see why you're here."

Anakin took a deep breath. He was tempted not to tell this trigger happy maniac anything too dangerous in case he went on a rampage, but at the same time, he needed to offer Saw something vital about the project the Imperials were conducting here. And then he realised it was a lost cause since everyone in the galaxy knew Palpatine was a Sith Lord. "Palpatine is interested in the kyber crystals and I think he's building a superweapon out there in the galaxy somewhere, but I want to track them down so it won't be used. Just for starters, what do you know of the mining operation here?"

Saw stiffened at the mention of Palpatine's name, and Anakin caught a look in the man's eye that reminded him of the pirates he had encountered on a regular basis in Mos Espa a long time ago. "A superweapon?" Saw rubbed his chin thoughtfully with what Anakin saw was a bionic hand. "Yes, it makes sense. Oh, and answering your question, the operations here are extremely intensive. The Imperials have mining zones everywhere, and they're kept under tight guard."

Anakin reached a critical decision. "Can you get me out there?"

"No," Saw shook his head, looking at Anakin as if he were insane. "The are Star Destroyers right above the mining areas, at all times. There are regular fighter patrols. The Destroyers and the fighters have turned the mines into strict no-fly zones, and if anyone goes near they are instantly driven off. The fighter pilots have been given orders not to hold back from opening fire, while the stormtroopers work with the Walkers to keep watch."

The quick reply made Anakin nod internally. He had done his homework before he had come to Jedha, and he knew what Saw had said was the truth, although the intel about the Destroyers was unexpected. What annoyed Anakin the most was he knew a few years ago he would have had little trouble using the Force to get into the mine and find out for himself what was going on despite the basics. Indeed he knew he could have learnt a lot more about the scale of what Palpatine was doing even if he knew now, for certain, whatever this weapon was it was big otherwise Palpatine wouldn't have had the mining areas so heavily watched and guarded.

And Anakin knew Palpatine even though the discovery the bastard was a Sith Lord and he had never been his friend, not really, had been a terrible surprise, but even with that revelation there were some parts of his personality which Palpatine had never hidden. Ever. Anakin knew Palpatine had been extremely thorough before the Clone Wars, and it did not surprise him he would take precautions now. Palpatine knew there would be resistance on Jedha, and he wouldn't want anything to compromise his project.

"Alright, fair enough," Anakin said, realising he wasn't going to get Saw's help in getting out to the mines. It surprised him, really; he would have expected someone of Saw's reputation and skill to jump at the chance, but when he saw the look of settled anger and pain in Saws' face, Anakin guessed Saw had tried to attack the mines, and judging from the way the resistance fighter was shaking the retaliation had made even this veteran realise it was a bad idea. Anakin looked at him curiously before he decided that he was better off not knowing what had happened.

"How much do you know about the superweapon?" Saw asked.

Anakin sighed. "Nothing. All I've heard is what the Empire are doing here on Jedha. I know they're interested in the kyber crystals, but I know how powerful they are. That's why I'm here; I know the Sith regularly made use of them to force the galaxy into doing what they wanted in the past, so it would make sense for Palpatine to make use of one since there is still enough of the Old Republic to cause him problems, so he'd need something to force the rest of the galaxy to obey him long term."

The two men paused as they noticed someone walking towards them. It was one of the priests, and aside from a brief glance from him, he was content to leave Saw and Anakin alone. The two men waited for a few minutes until they were certain he was out of earshot before they resumed their conversation.

"Yes," Saw said thoughtfully. "That would make sense. The Senate is losing power every month. It's not what it used to be."

"The Senate was always useless, Saw," Anakin pointed out, not really caring how his viewpoint about the Imperial Senate which was now a toothless Sarlaac. "You and every member of the Rebel Alliance can say whatever you want about it, but take it from me; they were useless, and it was no wonder Palpatine came to power the way he did."

"Mm, I didn't realise anyone fighting the Empire would think that Skywalker," Saw commented, looking at Anakin dangerously.

"Palpatine is an opportunist. He spent years manoeuvring himself into a position of power. The only reason he became Chancellor was that he had manipulated Queen Amidala into calling a vote of no confidence in Valorum. Once he was in that position, he manipulated events so the Clone Wars took place. During that time, he took more and more power away from the Senate until everything he said was law," Anakin pointed out, pleased he had managed to refer to Padme's rank during those days without any interest this moron could detect. In any case, Anakin knew he was right, and even Saw couldn't deny it.

Anakin had made a reputation for himself in the Resistance on Corellia with his lack of interest in restoring the Senate in the galaxy. He still believed that the galaxy was better off without that bunch of arguing politicians who did nothing at the end of the day, and that only a single leader should be in charge. Padme had been horrified when he had told her this on Naboo, but he hadn't meant the type of leadership Palpatine was exhibiting. Yes, okay, he believed there should be people helping the leader in charge, but there shouldn't be weeks and weeks of debate.

It was nothing more than an inefficient waste of time, really. Democracy. All that talking, all those debates….and while it was going on they were forgetting the emergency on hand. They were more interested in arguing, and the Jedi were right about the politicians; they were too busy lining their own pockets to really care about what was really going on.


	5. Chapter 5

Here it is, the final chapter of this part.

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

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Galactic Vigilante.

As he watched and followed yet another convoy of crates carrying the Kyber crystals out of Jedha's soil, Anakin was concentrating hard on completing his self-appointed task in order to stop himself from going crazy inside the stormtrooper armour he had managed to steal from a kindly Samaritan; sure, he'd needed to snap the trooper's neck, but he was still kind enough to be someone close to Anakin in height and body type.

The good news was long as you were incredibly cautious and knew what you were getting yourself into, it was pathetically simple to pass yourself off as a stormtrooper. The bad news was the tight, claustrophobic confines of the armour tended to get to you, and if the air conditioning system of the armour was off, then you began to cook.

When he had heard from Saw there was no chance of getting to the mines, Anakin had done his best to find some way of persuading the resistance leader only to be resisted firmly. In the end, Anakin had given in, especially since he knew without his Force Powers to help him pass by unnoticed by anyone except the most powerful Jedi Master or Sith Lord, there was no way he could get there without being noticed. So he'd decided he wasn't going to try after he'd given it some thought, but he needed to know more about what Palpatine wanted with the crystals.

But Anakin could see only one way of finding that out.

He would need to place a transponder beacon to the cargo and track down where it was all going. That was why he had gone in under disguise. With the number of stormtroopers and Imperial Officers present in the Holy City, it was child's play to find the right fit. Anakin had hoped to find an Imperial officer, but he'd decided against it since there was a chance, given their importance, they might send him off to where the kyber crystals were being taken, and he didn't want that since it would only be a matter of time before they realised the deception. In stormtrooper armour, he would be walking close to the convoy vehicles, and he could slap the tracker on one of the crates while they were distracted.

It wasn't the best thought out idea, but it was the best he had right now. But as he walked through the streets, he honestly hoped Saw's control over the resistance fighters here was constant. He had told the grizzled veteran about his plan, and while Saw hadn't liked it he had seen the bigger picture especially since he now knew from Anakin what the Sith used the crystals for.

Saw may have been violent and radical, but even he didn't like the thought of the Empire Palpatine and Vader had carved out of the blood of the Jedi and the Separatists becoming too powerful because they'd gotten one of the resources out of Jedha. Persuading him to keep the resistance fighters from launching an attack on the next convoy had not been difficult; all Anakin needed to do was tell him that after today, they could kill as many Imperials as they liked.

In any case, he doubted this would take long. From what he had learnt from Saw once he had changed his plans from surveying the mines to doing this instead, Anakin knew that the Imperials loaded the cargo crates onboard the Cargo shuttles after carrying out checks to make sure nothing had been sabotaged. It was a very quick and easy process; the crews would open the crates, run their scanners over the crystals, and then mark them as clear.

But it left him in a bind because he had to make this very quick; he had sent a quick message off to Shanna to come and pick him up. She would be here soon, and he wanted to make the rendezvous in one piece with the tracker onboard.

First, he had to get through the streets, looking around slowly for any sign of any trouble; just because Saw was an important resistance figure here did not necessarily mean he controlled everyone. As he walked through the streets, following the rest of the convoy, he paused slightly when he saw a tall, dark-skinned man who was older than he was. For a moment Anakin thought he could see Mace Windu in the crowd, and then he was gone.

Anakin inwardly shook his head. He hadn't seen or heard from any of his former colleagues in the Jedi Order for a long time since the Clone Wars, and he wanted to keep it that way simply because he found it hard to forgive them for what they had done. While he had forgiven them somewhat for what they had done to him by tearing his Force Powers from his very being, especially since he had discovered a new level of maturity about himself that he had never felt in his entire life before since he had always depended on his powers to give him insights into the types of people around him, while his Jedi training had given him the means to see things nobody else could see while being able to protect himself, but now he had nothing but his own experience and judgement to rely on, he realised he had become mature. For the first time in his life, Anakin had developed a new appreciation for life and now he couldn't do what he'd once been able to effortlessly, he had needed to learn how to read others while at the same time he had learnt humility.

It was ironic, really; for a long time, the Council had derided him for his hotheaded attitude, but now he had no powers, he had become far more mature especially since he knew without the Force to give him insights to rely on, he had only himself. The ironic thing was he had become so much mature because the Jedi had torn something so integral to his being.

But why would he suddenly see what looked like Mace Windu here, on Jedha? If there were Jedi on the moon, which would make sense, why would they come out into the open like this where someone might recognise them? They might have the Force, but it would only do so much in this less kind galaxy.

Anakin shook his head mentally again, and he carried on walking with the rest of the convoy, each step taken cautiously in case something happened. Thankfully for his nerves, the convoy reached the Cargo shuttle without any troubles. As soon as the Convoy entered the security area, where there were dozens of stormtroopers overlooking the scene while some of them were armed with really large blasters, the scanning crew got to work while technicians lifted off the covers protecting the crystals with the Cargo shuttle looming overhead.

Anakin had never been a patient man, but he dove deep inside the reserves he had available in his soul. While he stood in the background as much as he could so the other troopers wouldn't notice him, watching the whole time as the scanning technicians carefully examined every square inch of the crates and even looked inside them.

As he studied how thorough the crews were, Anakin decided to wait for a little while before dropping in the tracker. In any case, with the scrutiny over the operation and the alertness of the guards, it would be suicidal to even try. These stormtroopers were expecting trouble, and they were keeping their visors open for it. The Imperial officers also seemed changed; Anakin had seen them careless and arrogant in the past, but in here they all seemed more attentive, although it was attentiveness to the point of nervousness.

They clearly knew if anything went wrong here, they would pay for it.

The sight of the kyber crystals brought back a lot of memories for Anakin; he remembered coming to Jedha a long time ago with Kenobi, visiting the Temples, and enjoying the sights of the Holy City before he had gone to the caves of the planet to collect one of the crystals before he heard one calling to him….

But the crystals held inside the crates were quite large compared to the kyber he'd acquired so long ago (idly, he wondered for a second what had happened to the crystal in his lightsaber; it was likely the Jedi had kept the lightsaber he'd built quickly to replace the one that had been stamped to death on Geonosis, and kept it as a spare; with the war on, it would make sense all the dead Jedi would have their lightsabers kept in reserve in case one of the living members of the Order needed a spare before they had the time to replace the one they'd lost, but he pushed it aside), and he felt his heartbreak.

He might not be a Force-sensitive anymore, but he felt sick about what these crystals were likely going to be used for by the Empire.

There was one that was longer than Anakin's entire body, and perhaps twice the length of a Hutt, while another was quite wide and very heavy. As he looked around the open crates which the scanner techs, he noticed all the kybers were large, there weren't any small crystals. Anakin wondered if it was because Palpatine had ordered only large ones be removed from Jedha while the small ones were left here, but he also wondered if it was because the Sith Lord was trying to ensure none of the small crystals left the planet where they could find their way into the lightsabers of any rising Jedi in the galaxy.

It would explain why the stormtroopers raised their weapons or had them primed in case they saw someone reaching into the crates to lift a small shard out. But truthfully, Anakin suspected it was mostly out of paranoia if that was the case; with how the propaganda of the Empire kept spouting about the Jedi, how they were traitors, but mostly they were an ancient hokey religion that had died out, there would be so few people out in the galaxy who even knew how the kyber crystals worked in a lightsaber.

"Right, we're done. All checks completed. There's nothing in the crates," Anakin overheard one of the scanning technicians report to one of the more senior Imperial officers.

"No bombs? Tracking devices?" the Imperial officer asked. His tone surprised Anakin; he had encountered many Imperial officers over the years, and many of them were pompous or incredibly stupid because they had only joined the Empire to show themselves off as men of action when in fact they were as spineless as a Hutt, but this one seemed fearful of making a mistake although he could tell these two characters had actually been doing this for some time and had rehearsed it.

They both seemed frightened that if they made a mistake then they would pay for it.

The scanning technician's reply confirmed it. "None. They're all clean," he said, looking around more fearfully at the stormtroopers before he turned back to the officer.

_It looks like Vader has personally ensured if anything happens to these cargoes, then there will be deaths. Knowing the Sith, these guys probably saw some of their friends get killed, _Anakin thought to himself while the Imperial officer nodded. He pulled off one of his black leather gloves and pressed his thumb against a pad.

"Very well, all signed off. Get these crates on board the shuttle," the officer ordered before he turned away.

Anakin took a deep breath and held up his blaster like all the others, but he stepped close to one of the crates while keeping as close to a few of the other stormtroopers as he could to provide him with some unknowing cover while he held the tracker in his hand. But he didn't have the time to get the tracker in place, so he followed the crew onboard the cargo shuttle. Once inside, he placed the tracker which was the size of the tip of his finger on the outside of one of the crates. He placed another tracker on the wall of the shuttle itself to get an idea of where the shuttles went.

Once he was finished he followed the rest of the stormtroopers off the ship, and he didn't turn around when he heard the sound of the take-off. Now he was done, all he wanted to do was return to Corellia.

XXX

"How many trackers did you put on that ship?" Saw asked while Anakin put on his jacket while he sat down in a chair, resting his feet carelessly on the discarded helmet Anakin had been wearing. The rest of the armour was scattered on the ground, Anakin suspected that Saw would get some of his people to use the armour to strike against the presence on Jedha, although he didn't really care one way or another.

"Two. One on a crate, the other on the wall of the cargo bay. I don't know for sure if the Cargo shuttle takes the crystals straight to wherever Palpatine has them taken, so I decided to take the precaution."

"Good thinking, Skywalker," Saw nodded in approval, watching him for a moment before he opened his mouth. "What are you going to do now?"

Anakin paused when he heard the question, and he wondered what had made Saw ask it. But he decided to answer the question anyway out of politeness more than anything else.

"Right now, I just want to leave Jedha," he replied before he slowly got his things. "Why?"

Saw paused as he seemed to be mentally choosing what he was going to say next with great care. "We've recently had a visit from a man claiming to be a Jedi; I didn't meet him myself, but word got back to me that there was a Jedi, and he wanted to speak to you. I haven't sent a message back to him since I wanted your opinion on it."

"Are you sure he was a Jedi, and not one of the fakes or Inquisitors?" Anakin asked cautiously, wondering if this news was a coincidence after thinking he had seen Mace Windu. Perhaps he hadn't been imagining things, after all.

Ever since Palpatine had taken control of the galaxy, and the fledgeling resistance movements had begun to rise up in order to take back the galaxy from the Sith, there had been rumours of 'Jedi' who had arrived at the resistance bases….only to be Imperial spies, and more than one of those groups had been slaughtered. This had been in the days where Palpatine's reign was in its nascent stage, but the 'betrayals' had coloured the opinion of the Jedi, and now so many of them would likely kill anyone who showed any sign of Force sensitivity or skill with a lightsaber.

But even if whoever had met Saw's people was a genuine Jedi, Anakin didn't want to meet with them. Not a chance in hell.

"From what my people say, he levitated a few things into the air," Saw said. "I trust my people, Skywalker. This was a genuine Jedi, and he wanted to see you. According to my people, he was fairly urgent. He also knew you were here."

"Did he say his name?"

"No, he didn't."

"Did he say why he wanted to speak to me?"

"No."

Anakin sighed. "I don't want to see them. Is there any way I can slip out and get to the outskirts of the city without them coming after me?"

"Oh, how come?" Saw asked curiously.

Anakin sighed again, resigning himself to the inevitable. "I….I am a former Jedi. But I broke the Code; the long and the short of it is, the Jedi Order were afraid of me and what I was capable of, so they took my Force Powers away from me."

"By the Gods," Saw's already hoarse voice became even more hoarse. "They can do that?"

"They can," Anakin's voice was grim. "It's not a common procedure, but the Jedi can do it. I seriously don't know why the Jedi, if the person who spoke to your people was a Jedi and not one of the fakes or infiltrators that have cropped up in the last few years, would want to see me. I can't do anything for them anymore."

"Can your Force Powers be restored?"

"No," Anakin shook his head. "Cutting someone off from the Force is permanent, and when its happened there's nothing you can do to reverse it. Oh, I might feel a twinge here and there, I might be able to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth, but they're fleeting moments.. The Jedi had started using this practice regularly during the Clone Wars, from what I heard as a means of ensuring nobody became like Dooku. I was the first of least seventy or eighty - I don't know how many - people who lost their own connections; in my case, they did it more strongly so it would be permanent."

"I never knew they'd started doing that during the Clone Wars," Saw commented. "I know Dooku shocked the galaxy given his status as a Jedi Master, but I didn't know they'd take it that far."

"Dooku surprised the Jedi," Anakin pointed out, remembering his own brief battle with the former Jedi Master turned Sith Lord on Geonosis. "The Jedi Council immediately adjourned in the aftermath and passed on the decree if any Jedi - Master, Knight, Apprentice - showed signs of breaking the Code, they were instantly going to lose their Force Connections. I was used as an example."

He had only discovered this decision during his recuperation in the Temple after the Council had severed his connection. The Jedi Council had been shaken by the discovery that not only had Count Dooku become the leader of the Separatists hellbent on warring with the Republic, but he had turned to the Dark Side as well. And not only had he turned to the Dark Side, but he had become a Sith Lord. The repercussions had shaken the Order, and so the Council had decided to come up with countermeasures to make sure it never happened again. They were already forewarned about Palpatine's presence in the Senate, even if Dooku hadn't told them that the Sith Lord in charge of the Senate was doing it literally, and now all of their attention had been split between trying to discover the identity of the Sith Master since there was no doubt that somebody else was pulling the strings - literally - and fighting the wars.

The last thing the Jedi Council wanted was another Jedi falling down the same slippery slope. In his case, the Jedi's decision had been preordained. But Anakin had little doubt in his mind the Council had been delighted; not only did he give them a foolproof excuse to get rid of him, but he had given them proof that he couldn't be trusted with his powers - yes, he had claimed Palpatine had given him awful advice, but that was just an excuse in their eyes.

"Stang…That sounds…rough," Saw whispered, unable to find the right words but truthfully Anakin didn't care what he was thinking.

"Yes, so as a result I don't really want to speak to any Jedi at this point; there may be legitimate Jedi out there in the galaxy since it's likely Vader missed many of them in the Purges, but their ideas of how to end the Empire and mine are different," Anakin pointed out. "Is there someone with a speeder who can take me out of the city?"

XXX

Anakin closed his eyes and let the wind hit his face gently as the speeder took him far out beyond the walls of the city. Finding someone to take him out of the city hadn't been difficult - all Saw needed to do was find someone who could drive a speeder, and then tell him to take Anakin out as far as he wished.

Before he had jumped into the passenger seat, Anakin had sent a call to Shanna. His girlfriend and fellow test pilot had just arrived at the planet, and all he had to do was activate his com link's homing beacon.

Anakin looked ahead and nodded while he mentally gauged the distance between this point and the city itself before he nodded again in satisfaction. "This is perfect," he called to the driver, who nodded before he tripped the brake control of the speeder.

"Thanks," he called to the driver after he'd gotten out.

The driver waved back but otherwise said nothing as he turned back and sped towards the Holy City, leaving Anakin behind. Once he was sure he was alone, Anakin pulled out his communicator and he pressed the homing beacon. Once that was done, Anakin only had to wait.

While he stood waiting in the plain, hoping that he was nowhere near where the Jedi had made their base, and certainly hoping the Imperials didn't find him anytime soon, Anakin had time to think.

So far his theories about what the Empire was doing on Jedha had been confirmed, especially after he had seen the size of the Kyber crystals. The only thing he needed to do now was to track down where the crystals were taken, and once he had followed the trail he would have a better idea of what Palpatine had in mind for the galaxy.

Thinking about Palpatine…Anakin still found it so hard to believe the man whom he had thought was a dear friend of his was not his friend at all, but a manipulative tyrannical monster. But Anakin was left physically and mentally ill. He knew now, thanks to what he knew about Palpatine being Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, the Sith had been grooming him into taking the place filled by Dooku and that Zabrak he had seen years ago during that mess with the blockade of Naboo.

A place now filled by somebody else. Anakin wondered what had happened to make Marcus Ryder of all people turn to the Dark Side, but as much as Anakin wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, he didn't want to given what had nearly happened to him. Anakin had never really found the time to speak to Ryder in the past. He knew Ryder had been Master Windu's Padawan, and they'd exchanged a few words, but that was it. But Anakin could certainly see why Palpatine had latched onto him; with his Force potential shining like a star, and his lightsaber prowess, Ryder was a lethal and powerful opponent. His knowledge of Windu's specialist lightsaber combat technique was also a bonus, given what Anakin knew about it.

Anakin shoved those thought aside when he saw something appearing on the horizon and coming down lower to land. He took out his macro binoculars and he peered through them, and a grin spread across his face when he saw Shanna's own YT-1300 freighter coming down lower.

While he waited for his girlfriend to land, Anakin used the time to think. He had not expected the Jedi here to want to get in touch with him, if they were Jedi but that made little sense given that he had gone out of his way to keep under the radar of both Palpatine and Vader, and at least until the idiots in PR back in CEC had leaked word of who was going to be in the Test ship carrying the FTL engine, he had actually thought he had succeeded.

But overall he was content to just remain alone without the Jedi bothering him.

When Shanna's ship landed, Anakin jumped on board before the boarding ramp had even touched the ground. Shanna took off instantly and he rushed to the cockpit where he found her in the pilot's seat. Anakin had helped customise Shanna's ship so then she could take more control over the freighter, much like he had with his own so he wasn't surprised to find her by herself. In any case, like him, she was a veteran pilot although her experience was greater since she hadn't been bogged down by missions like he had in his youth.

"Hey, Anakin," Shanna grinned at him, leaning forward to kiss him. "How was it?"

Anakin smiled and kissed her back before he took the co-pilot seat while Shanna gave him control, knowing how much he liked that. "I used two trackers; one for one of the kyber crystal crates, and the other for the Cargo shuttle. I didn't know for certain if the crates were distributed to somewhere else in the Empire, so I decided to place trackers on both."

"What type of weapon do you think they're building?" Shanna asked while she prepared the navigational computer to compute a return journey to Corellia. "I mean, I've heard the legends of Sith weapons-."

"I don't know, but I know one thing, its bound to be one which will make organisations like the Rebel Alliance lose favour, even with those who want the galaxy to be returned to the way it had been before Palpatine came to power. Think about it, Palpatine is funnelling more and more power away from the Senate. In time there will nothing left, but for the meantime, it is still capable of causing him problems and slowing him down," Anakin said, not bothering to hide his contempt for the Senate from Shanna since she knew how he felt since she shared it herself given how two of her brothers had died in the Clone Wars and all the Senate did was celebrate their sacrifice, "but when the Senate does go, he will need something to back up his power. He will have the Imperial military, yeah, but he needs something else as well."

"Monster," Shanna whispered when the navigational computer was finished, but her mind was picturing a galaxy where the Senate was gone and Palpatine only needed to say to get something done was to issue the command with the threats of reprisals from whatever the old bastard was having built.

Anakin nodded in agreement. "I couldn't get close to the mines. They're under heavy guard at all times, and no-one was willing to risk it. I couldn't because I needed to make it quick, so I decided to take a disguise and slap on the trackers. Speaking of which," he added, slipping out his comlink. "Let's see where it's going now…"

Shanna engaged the hyperdrive just as Anakin and tuned the link into the ships' computer. It took a few moments before the real-time location of the Cargo Shuttle and the crate came through.

"Eadu," Anakin said, nodding. "That makes sense."

"Eadu? I've never heard of it."

"I'm not surprised, Shanna. There's nothing really interesting there, and it's located slap bang in a relatively uninteresting corner of the galaxy. I know about it 'cause I overheard a few space pirates and smugglers on Tatooine. It's rugged terrain and lack of any real attention made it attractive as a base of operations for a few of them. It's a storm-drenched lump of rock in the Outer Rim, but its remoteness makes it attractive for the Empire."

"What do you think they do with the crystals there?" Shanna asked.

"I don't know," Anakin shook his head, but he turned his attention back to her. "We can't do anything about that right now. We've got a test flight to prepare for. Once that's over with, then we can concentrate on Eadu."

Shanna nodded. As a member of the resistance on Corellia herself, Shanna was willing to do whatever it took to shake the foundations of the Empire. "Is everything ready with the test ship?" she asked.

"It will be. I didn't want to do anything that would attract too much attention, at least until it was too late."


End file.
